


The Fireworks are for You

by chiakikanata



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Chiakana would give the universe to Kaoru if they could, I think they’re really neat okay, M/M, i love chiakaokana but perhaps I love Beffie more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-09 13:44:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19477102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chiakikanata/pseuds/chiakikanata
Summary: In the morning, in the evening, and in the dead of night,No matter what choices I make,They’re for you.Always for you.(In which Chiaki and Kanata go above and beyond for the one other person they both love more than life itself)





	The Fireworks are for You

“ Where, exactly, are we going?” Kaoru asked into the blackness. The fabric of Chiaki’s jacket tied around his eyes rubbed awkwardly against his face, and was making his cheek itch rather agonisingly. Sadly, he couldn’t reach up to adjust it, because both his hands were occupied, caught in the grasp of two people walking on either side of him. 

“It’s a ‘surprise’, so, I can't tell you~,” Kanata said, breezing along next to Kaoru, his cool skin brushing against the fabric of Kaoru’s sleeve like a whisper on the wind. Kaoru couldn’t see through his makeshift blindfold, but he could feel the happiness radiating from Kanata and the upturned corners of his lips ever so close to Kaoru’s own ear. 

“Exactly! It wouldn’t be a surprise if you knew what was happening!” 

If Kanata was tranquil ice, Chiaki was an open flame, and standing next to him, smoke filled Kaoru’s lungs, charged with heavy electricity. Embers danced on his skin, jumping and sparking in the air and making him feel like he was standing in a bonfire, ravished by the flames. Chiaki’s hands - both of which were squeezing Kaoru’s at full force - were slightly sweaty, and their palms stuck together like cheap glue.

A strange sense of security came from being sandwiched between these two eccentric boyfriends of his, the kind strong enough to make him envy the first years of their unit, who got to grow and flourish under the combined serenity of the ocean and the warmth of the sun. These moments where he could snatch Chiaki and Kanata away from their lives, to simply revel in their energy and presence, were guiltily beautiful, the reality of the world fading into an idyllic background melody as he allowed himself to be carelessly swept away in their warm current. 

Although something about today’s current was agitated - actually, apprehensive would be a better word for it - and the relaxing bubbles in the water were fizzing and popping like firecrackers. He didn’t think today was a special day, but it certainly wasn’t a normal one either, as on normal days one is not tugged, blindfolded, down a narrow cycle path leading to the edge of town. They’d been walking for at least ten minutes, and whilst at first Kaoru had been content to move according to the whims of the two boys who had shown up unannounced at his house in the early evening, his feet were starting to hurt now, and he was unable to remove the stone that had worked its way down the back of his shoe. Perhaps he needed three hands, rather than two? 

“Okay… if you can’t tell me where we’re going, can you tell me how far away it is?” He questioned, humour in his tone and a smile that refused to leave his features tugging at his lips. 

No matter how inconvenient they could be for him, Kaoru couldn’t deny his companions being so damn  _ cute _ , as Kanata let out an airy laugh that rang like a wind-chime, from where he clung on to Kaoru’s right arm. 

“We should ‘probably’ be there soon, Kaoru, so try not to worry. We can’t stop until we ‘arrive’ though, or it will ‘ruin’ what we have planned for you, so please be patient with us,” he nudged Kaoru’s shoulder apologetically, and Kaoru sighed. 

“‘Probably’ isn’t very comforting, you know? I definitely don’t trust the two of you to plan something on your own with no supervision!”

Chiaki scoffed, and squeezed himself tighter against Kaoru, his voice loud and uncomfortably close to his ear. “There’s nothing to fear, Hakaze! The two of us are very responsible, isn’t that right, Kanata?”

Kanata nodded gently, and hummed his agreement. “Not only that, we are the most ‘qualified’ Kaoru professionals, and therefore are best ‘equipped’ to make sure he has fun..” He swayed slightly as he spoke, the familiar ‘puka puka’ motion making Kaoru wobble slightly—not good for someone with impaired vision—as he walked. 

“What the hell is a ‘qualified Kaoru professional’?” Kaoru raised an eyebrow, a laugh contracting in his chest, as Kanata absentmindedly patted his head in reply, deciding that question did not need a verbal answer right now.

There was a sudden tightening on Kaoru’s hands, as Chiaki and Kanata stopped walking and tugged him to a halt alongside them. The air around him seemed to clear, and he was aware of a heavy warmth, like that of unfiltered sunlight. 

“We’re here!” Chiaki announced. The pressure around Kaoru’s eyes lessened and then fell apart, as the jacket was untied from his face. He was expecting to be blinded by a sudden light, but his surroundings were faded, and a navy dye was seeping into the sky like spilled ink as the sun dipped below the horizon. At his feet, a dusty forest trail spilled out into verdant grassland, a clear meadow speckled with wildflowers and the chirping of crickets, which reached out to the ends of the sky, and dropped away as a spectacular cliff. In the distance, the sunset was perfectly visible, and below it were houses like those made by ants, tiny neighbourhoods bustling and energetic in the summer weather. Far beyond that, and only visible as a shimmer at the bottom of the horizon, was a trace of the ocean. 

It was wide, and vast, and beautiful. It was the world in a bubble, a view Kaoru didn’t even know existed. 

“How did you find this place?” He asked, his gaze flitting from one boyfriend to another incredulously. Both looked rather pleased with themselves. 

“Well,” Kanata tapped Kaoru’s nose, which crinkled up like paper, “It was with a little… ‘help’.” 

Chiaki dropped Kaoru’s hand and ran around to join Kanata, who he slung an arm around enthusiastically. 

“We asked Mikejima if he knew a place where-“ 

Kanata puffed out his cheeks, and slapped a hand over Chiaki’s mouth. His eyebrows creased in disapproval, but the warmth of his features indicated no real upset. 

“You are somewhat of a ‘blabbermouth’, aren’t you?” He sighed, “It is a very good thing you were not the ‘only one’ involved in planning this, or it wouldn’t have stayed as a ‘surprise’ for very long.”

“A surprise?” Kaoru was interested now. “So this isn’t just your usual spontaneous adventure, then?”

Chiaki shook his head, his chest swelling and a triumphant smile on his face.

“Hardly! This is a plan we’ve had for quite a while now! Our master plan, I think it’s fair to call it! Right, Kanata?” 

The stray piece of hair on top of Kanata’s head swayed back and forth as he nodded his agreement. 

“Mmmm, it took a lot of ‘work’ so, please give me ‘praise’, Kaoru~” 

“Praise? You want a sticker or something?” Kaoru laughed, rolling his eyes but slinging an arm around Kanata’s smaller frame all the same. 

“I want a sticker!” Chiaki exclaimed, grabbing Kaoru’s shoulders in excitement. His palms were hot, and burnt Kaoru’s skin until it was cold and shivering, feverish and thrilling, giving off a light too strong and bright for Kaoru’s body to handle. “Do you have a sticker, Hakaze?”

“Chiaki… Kaoru was being ‘sarcastic’...” Kanata said, slowly, like he was talking to a toddler. “There is no ‘sticker’ for either of us.” 

Now it was Kanata’s turn in Chiaki’s grip, as he cupped the glassy skin of his cheeks in his hands, squishing them. 

“Chiaki… that’s too ‘hot’. I will ‘melt’.” Kanata said, matter-of-factly, putting his own hands over Chiaki’s. “You must be ‘careful’ how you handle me, you know?” 

Chiaki squished Kanata’s cheeks a little more, seeming satisfied with the small ‘huff’ this earned him. 

“I like stickers, though! You like them too, Kanata, you like the little fish ones! You give them to the first years during unit practice!” 

“That’s so childish,” Kaoru scroffed, leaning over to join the conversation. 

“It’s not childish! Collecting stickers is part of every boys youth!” Chiaki exclaimed. Kanata’s head bobbed in approval from where it was sandwiched between Chiaki’s hands. 

“Everyone ‘likes’ stickers, Kaoru. There are some things that ‘everyone’ no matter how old or ‘young’ they are, can enjoy together. Like the aquarium,” he added brightly, after a momentary pause. 

Kaoru wasn’t left any room to argue with this statement, as Kanata gently pressed a finger to his lips before he could speak. 

“Chiaki, your ‘phone’ is buzzing.” He pokes at Chiaki’s pocket, from which the corner of a bright red phone case can be seen. 

“It is? Oh, it is!” Chiaki suddenly seemed to be invigorated, and the heat radiating from him intensified as he took the phone and tapped away frantically on the screen. 

“Let me ‘see’, Chiaki, let me see~” Kanata shuffled away from Kaoru to create a huddle with Chiaki around his phone reminiscent of penguins in winter. Except even under the blanket-thick evening sky, it was nothing like winter, it was hot and Kaoru felt sweaty from just looking at his boyfriends, squashed tight together. More than sweaty, though, he was confused, as the gleam in their eyes and the slight flush of their cheeks told him Chiaki and Kanata were not done with whatever they had planned for him tonight. 

How difficult they could be, he thought, a fond smile teasing the corners of his mouth. 

“Hakaze! It’s almost time!” Chiaki snapped Kaoru from his train of thought with a sudden hand around the wrist. 

“M-Moricchi? What’s this about?” Kaoru’s eyes widened slightly as Chiaki dragged him closer to the cliff edge. Then he was falling downwards as Chiaki moved too fast, tripping and sprawling, finding grass in his hair and tickling his eyelashes. A small, stammered yelp from next to him told him that Chiaki had met the same fate.

“Hakaze? Are you alright?” 

A scrambling, and the sound of Kanata’s distant giggling filled Kaoru's ears as he rolled onto his back, looking up at the clear sky, starless. Suddenly, Chiaki was peering over him, breath hot and close enough to make Kaoru’s nose scrunch up in recoil. The sky was plain and boring, but Kaoru came to the reluctant realisation that Chiaki’s eyes were very pretty, flecked with glowing amber and streaks of caramel that could only have been left behind in the wake of a shooting star. 

The piercing heat was too much, and it flushed Kaoru’s skin like a dye seeping into him and making him red, Chiaki’s bright red, and it was in his veins and his eyes and now was certainly  _ not _ the time...

Kaoru puffed out a sharp breath, making Chiaki recoil and squeeze his thickly lashed eyes shut in the manner of a small, surprised Kitten. 

“Personal space, Moricchi~!” He laughed, quickly regaining his composure and comfortably propping himself up on one elbow. Chiaki simply laughed in reply to this, and the warmth across Kaoru’s face returned. 

A gentle stirring in the grass as Kanata sat down next to Kaoru, the aftermath of laughter colouring his cheeks pleasantly. 

“Now would be a good time for both of you to ‘recover’,” he told them, looking up at the sky expectantly. “It should only take a ‘moment’...” 

Kanata’s concentration seemed to be much greater than Kaoru’s own, as the sky was unable to hold his gaze for more than a moment. Kanata’s hair was swaying in the light breeze right on the edge of Kaoru’s vision, soft and smooth and very hard not to look at. 

Kaoru wasn’t the only one distracted by his boyfriend, seemingly enough, as Chiaki—who had recovered from his fall quite rapidly—was up on his knees almost instantly, colliding against Kaoru’s side, where he was caught by surprise and pushed into Kanata. 

“Chiaki…” Kanata puffed out his cheeks, steadying himself, “Don’t ‘charge into’ people when they’re not paying attention.” 

Chiaki’s signature laugh boomed in Kaoru’s ear, as he reached, desperately trying to catch both Kaoru and Kanata in a wide hug. 

Kanata frowned, gingerly moving stray hairs from Kaoru’s head away from his face, eyebrows furrowed. 

“Chiaki, it is too ‘hot’...” he complained half-heartedly, but making no move to escape the hand around his waist. 

“You think it’s hot? I’m stuck between you both!” Kaoru complained, trying to adjust Chiaki’s weight against him to achieve a sitting position. 

“Aha… Ah, that tickles!” Chiaki relented and rolled away once more as Kaoru poked him in the side with his elbow. 

“That’s better. Some breathing room, huh?” He said, satisfied with his efforts as Chiaki folded his legs, sat at a more appropriate distance this time. 

“Ah… now is the time to ‘look’ upwards.” Kanata tugged on Kaoru’s sleeve gently, and pointed towards the sky. 

A blank canvas, a black chalkboard waiting to be written on, was suddenly exploding with colour. A second of silence, and then a bang, a clap of thunder making the sparks of fire so high above tremble as they fizzed out. Red, as vivid as the sun, blue, as deep as the ocean, and purple, luminous and enchanting, all dancing in the night with noise and vigor. 

“Oh.” Kaoru said, staring at the fireworks. 

“Oh?” Kanata repeated, and Kaoru wrenched his gaze away and down to the shimmering seaglass of Kanata’s eyes, the corners dyed red and blue and purple from the display overhead. “Is ‘oh’ good?” 

Silence. 

“I would hope it’s ‘good’,” Kanata continued, a tranquil smile on his face as he turned away from Kaoru. “Because… the fireworks are for ‘you’, Kaoru. Now and forever… always for ‘you’...”

Kaoru’s throat went dry and he was aware of heat prickling his eyes. 

Strange. 

“I like fireworks as well, Hakaze!” Chiaki perked up, his stare still fixated on the show above. “So I was really happy when Kanata suggested we put on our own one for you!” 

“Ah.” Kaoru was finding it hard to talk, the heat and the light and the sound crushing his voice and rolling his thoughts up into a single, simple sound. 

Strange. 

Chiaki’s bright eyes softened a little as they met Kaoru’s, and he reached a warm hand over to grip Kaoru’s smooth fingers. He didn’t say anything else, which was definitely strange. 

‘Ah’, Kaoru looked up at the sky with its bold colours and summer haze, ‘Ah’. 

This is what it must feel like… to be truly wanted in the world. 

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> so... chiakaokana...
> 
> Uh, this is actually being published on a really special day! Today is Beffie’s birthday! I really love Beffie, see, and I truly think she may be the most wonderful person to ever exist on par with shinkai kanata himself (shocking, I know) 
> 
> My writing is still improving, but this is the only thing I really know how to do, so I wanted to do it for you, aha... i started writing this all that time ago when you told me about how when you were small your parents would tell you the America Day tm fireworks were really happy birthday fireworks for you... I thought that was really cute and yeah the fireworks are for you... I’m glad it’s finally finished and uploaded though 
> 
> Please accept my offering to the two hands club tag anyway because I know we’re both starving for content of them!! Happy birthday!!!


End file.
